Wednesday, March 19, 2008

According to Bill Gates there are 3 keys to success in any new venture.

Being in the right place at the right time. (You could well be already there ).

Have a vision of where the industry / business you’re working in is going.

Taking Massive and Immediate Action. (It is time to act).

“The future belongs to those who believe in the quality of their dreams” Was it Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, the famous German poet and philosopher who said those words?

Here are my 15 steps to fulfilling my wildest dreams.

1.Know Yourself :

Know and accept your weaknesses and faults (we all have them), but even more so your strengths, abilities and gifts. Build on your strengths and try to minimize or improve on your weaknesses. An honest, objective analysis of yourself is the first step in preparing you for success and realizing your dreams. Celebrate you for just being you, a unique creation.

Aim for mental clarity about what you most want out of life. Think about it and write it down. If it’s happiness, what do you mean by happiness a sense of belonging recognition, independence, love, money or security? If you don’t know where you are and where you want to go with your life, how will you ever get there? Aim at nothing and your sure to hit it.

2.Get Passionate :

Don’t apologize for getting passionate. What excites you the most? If you are not enthusiastic and excited about what you’re doing, your path in life, you’ll never get others to share your dreams. Once you find your passion, you will have found your POWER, MEANING and PURPOSE in life.

3.Surround Yourself With Positive Passion :

Always be aware. Negative people will poison your dream faster than anything else. Motto “If you can’t be positive, shut up” Try and stay positive … even in the face of negativity.

4.Accept From The Start That You Won’t Please Everyone :

You’re going to be misunderstood, misquoted, hurt some feelings, perhaps even lose some friends (for the first time being) Motto “What other people think of me is none of my business” Repeat this statement to yourself, especially when you doubt or feel discouraged.

5.Always Be Yourself :

To thine own self be true.(Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” act 1.3) This is supremely important, no matter what the world may think of you. The masses are conditioned to mediocrity and other people’s success can make them not feel inferior for their own insignificant little lives. Accept yourself. Learn from others – but don’t be intimidated by them, or pretend to be someone you’re not, because…“We are most effective when we’re being ourselves”

6.Don’t Be Scared Of Making Mistakes :

The only real mistake is one from which you learn nothing. Motto “For better to try Something and fail, than try nothing and succeed”.

7.Accept That It Will Never Be Easy :

Realizing your dream, may be the hardest, most uphill thing you’ll ever do A truth "You can’t coast uphill”. The key ingredient in success is never giving up. Keep on keeping on with your quest. It has been said that “success is 99%, made top of failures.”

8.Stay Humble (no matter how successful you may be :

Don’t ever think you’ve made it and arrived – there’s always a lot ahead, more to do, higher mountains to climb. Motto “The greatest way to do our thing has yet to be discovered.”

9.Don’t Underestimate Yourself :

There is incredible power in yourself ( in the form of the unique human mind), but far more so in the forces of the Universe. Make them work for you by living your life in harmony with these natural forces. Like positive energy attracts like.

Enough “spiritual” thoughts” Back to the “real world” and you. Avoid developing an inferiority complex. (Who am I, a nothing?). Don’t be filled with feelings of self-pity (nobody likes me), or think “I can’t do it). These thoughts will steal your dreams.

10.Have Fun :

Nothing is ever as bad as it seems --- don’t get too solemn, or serious or too downcast when things go wrong (as they surely will from time to time). Take a leaf from Thomas Edison’s book. “I never did a day’s work in my entire life, it was all FUN” Laugh at life’s funny moments…. And there are plenty of them.”The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one does.

J.M. Barrie

11.Develop The Will To Live :

There will be plenty of times when you’ll face the death of your dream. When failures, disappointments and criticisms come you need the will and faith to keep going. Remember, We learn far more from our failures than our successes, because failures show us what doesn’t work. So, failure is just one step closer to ultimate success. Often the difference between failure and success, is trying just one more time, picking yourself up off the canvas after being knocked down time and again.

12.Develop The Will To Help And Serve Others :

Success on its own (i.e. for its own sake) will pollute and corrupt you --- it’s a dead end street unless you have meaning in your life. The years of struggle breed fortitude and character. The gold may be an inch away from the scam, where your fellow miners have given up. You need to succeed for a reason, a purpose, a cause that’s bigger than you and IF (a very big if) you’ve fulfilled all the above requirements.

By the time you finish reading this you will realise its just 12 steps and not 15…

Thursday, March 13, 2008

VENTURE capital investment in India is growing at a furious pace. The Quarterly India Venture Capital Report published by Dow Jones VentureOne and Ernst & Young reveals that venture capitalists invested more than $777 million in 57 deals in the first nine months of 2007. This represents a nearly five-fold jump over the comparable period last year.

The study also shows that early stage investment accounted for 63% of the deals in the first three quarters of the current year. The information technology sector attracted $327 million in 31 deals, while the business/consumer/retail sector attracted $376 million.

Dilip Dusija, associate director for private equity group at Ernst & Young, gives a perspective on the venture capital scene in the country:

The largest number of deals has been with IT-oriented companies and the largest chunk of funds has been put into the retail sector in 2007. Are we likely to see a shift of focus this year?

VCs have always been traditionally associated with IT-oriented companies. This year, we saw more focus on retail and consumer services. This is what we have tried to highlight in our report. In the near future, we don‘t see much change in focus from these areas. However, we do expect activity in the alternative energy space. This is happening the world over and (we) expect a similar case in India. Manufacturers of solar cells, solar panels and other alternate energy equipment can expect some attention.

What are the factors that are leading to a rapid growth in venture capital investment in India?

There are three or four factors that have led to this growth. The first is the India growth story. India is expanding at a good rate and the world has its eyes on it. There are also plenty of untapped areas. This ranges from internet advertising to clean technologies. India’s consumer growth story is also creating a huge demand.

A lot of money has come in the recent past. Is there space for more or is the VC space overheated?

This phenomenon of VC funding has just begun and there is scope for more. In India, we haven’t seen too many investments in the early stages. Private equity activity started only two years ago. VC follows private equity. It could be behind PE as India is a growth market. PE funds’ investments in India was $2 billion in 2005, $7.billion in 2006 and it should be anywhere between $12-13 billion in 2007. VCs tend to follow the PE.

Are venture capital funds behaving, sometimes, like PE investors, investing only in successful enterprises? What proportion of VC funding is made early enough to help businesses grow?

Yes this is definitely true. Especially in India, the line between VCs and PE investors is very thin. This is because the VC culture and opportunities have just begun in India.

Article Resource:Author: Jacob Cherian is the Chief Editor in the The Economic Times, Mumbai and the article appeared in one of their successful columns on Entrepreneurship/Start-ups called "Starship Enterprise".

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

AMERICAN scientist Carl Sagan once said, knowing a great deal is not the same as being smart. Intelligence is not information alone, but also judgement, the manner in which information is collected and used. This holds as good for companies as it holds good for individuals. Companies are accumulating information all the time, sometimes much more than they can manage. The collective corporate memory of all such information can be mindboggling and companies may struggle, and eventually fail, to effectively use it for decision making. One fallout of such complexity is that a company might be sitting on information that it desperately seeks, but simply does not know that it exists.

It was this problem that gripped the minds of Sanjay Mehta and his friends four years ago. The start-up they were part of had taken decisive growth steps, implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. The customers were happy with the product, but often found that an ERP implementation alone would not suffice to meet their information needs.

The opportunity to fill this gap spurred Mr Mehta and his colleagues Jigisha Sanghvi, Vipul Mehta, and Hiten Rathod to set up MAIA Intelligence, a business intelligence product company, in August 2006. The seed for the idea had been sown at a business meeting with officials of Parker Hannifin Corporation, which had bought the ERP product from Udyog Software, the earlier start-up that the four friends were part of. “Having a catalogue of over 12 lakh products, they wanted to know what was moving and what was not,” says Mr Mehta. With the basic business software implemented at the Indian operations of Parker Hannifin, it was possible to compile a visual representation, but it was a tedious affair. The customer’s employees asked for a simple solution that would help them access intelligent data without their technical experts racking their brains over it.

“After we had set up this ERP product, we found the challenges of creating lots of report. People were putting in data and saying that they weren’t getting enough back,” says Mr Mehta. The Udyog team added a reporting tool to the business software as a plug-in and found the users liked it. Customers soon started asking for reporting features in specialised business software such as customer relationship management and human resource application. Its appeal and functionality was good enough to convince the group of four to spin off the product as a separate company, targeted at its own audience rather than the typical ERP user.

There is a wide choice of reporting tools in the market, including Business Object, Cognos and SAS, but Mr Mehta claims they are expensive and hence, typically used by only the top officials of a company. There was a need for business intelligence (BI) at almost every level of the organisation. “We started with the core idea of helping companies to take quicker decisions across all levels of the organisation,” says Mr Mehta.

MAIA’s business intelligence product, 1Key, is server-based and can be accessed by hundreds of employees at the same time. One of its clients has 1,200 of their employees hooked to the product. “We say to CIOs, who are already using other products, ‘Go ahead’. Instead let the underserved use our product,” says Mr Mehta.

The decision to spin off the product and brand it separately from Udyog was taken in view of the different market segments they served and the pricing models needed to be adopted. MAIA targets companies having large-scale operations, generating hundreds of data points. Udyog’s business software, on the other hand, caters to small and medium enterprises. “Whenever we presented the product at industry gatherings, we were referred to as the ‘excise company’. We had to completely shed that image,” Mr Mehta, referring to one of Udyog’s software products.

Pidilite Industries was one of the early adopters. “They had 170 reports in static form. Pidilite wanted to convert all their static reports into a BI format, which enabled business users to have dynamic reporting capabilities,” says Mr Mehta. MAIA has gone on to win prestigious clients such as Reliance Capital, Edelweiss Capital and Essel Propack. The company has so far invested Rs 4.5 crore and expects to close this year with a business of Rs 4 crore. Mr Mehta says he expects MAIA to break even next year. The projected revenue for 2008 is Rs 20 crore. There are also plans to market it abroad, especially the US.

MAIA has proven that even in the crowded field of business software, there is enough space and scope for an innovative product that will solve a strongly felt pain point at a price that is all too Indian.

Article Resource:Author: Jacob Cherian is the Chief Editor in the The Economic Times, Mumbai and the article appeared in one of their successful columns on Entrepreneurship/Start-ups called "Starship Enterprise".

Many financing efforts fail because of avoidable mistakes that are made in pitching potential lenders, structuring the agreement or managing the money once the deal is done.

HALF-BAKED BUSINESS PLANS

There’s nothing worse than going into a money meeting unprepared. If you haven’t put the time and energy into writing a full-blown business plan complete with elements, such as a cogent description, financial projections and a competitive market analysis, the people with the cash won’t put the time into evaluating your proposal.

FOCUSING TOO MUCH ON THE IDEA AND TOO LITTLE ON THE MANAGEMENT

It’s not enough to convince potential backers that you’ve invented the next must-have gadget or can’t-miss clothing store concept. You also need a team that can generate the revenues to repay a bank loan or provide an exit strategy for a VC or angel investor. Many business novices ignore the second part of the equation; that can doom their money quest.

Remember, the greatest racehorse in the world still needs a great jockey to a win the race. The same principle applies in business. Showing that you have recruited a top-notch salesperson, a skilled marketer, an accountant with start-up experience, other key personnel, and even outside experts like an attorney or business coach who can supply professional guidance is essential to finding a funding source.

NOT ASKING FOR ENOUGH MONEY

Starting out with too little money is one of the causes for start-up collapses. That’s often because entrepreneurs, who are wet behind the ears, don’t realise that they should calculate their borrowing needs based on their worst-case scenario instead of their best-case forecast. An old accounting axiom says that everything will take twice as long and cost twice as much as you expect. While that may be an exaggeration, new business owners are frequently too optimistic about how soon they will begin to fill their cash pipeline and how fast the money will flow. If you’re underfunded, you won’t have a cushion to tide over in the event of slow initial sales.

HAVING TOO MANY LENDERS OR INVESTORS

One of the hazards of securing financing from multiple sources is managing too many relationships and expectations. It takes time away from your core business. These not-so-silent partners may have conflicting interests or demands and the consequences can be devastating.

FAILING TO GET ALL THE PROPER LEGAL AGREEMENTS

This is arguably more important than a prenuptial agreement for a couple with significant individual assets. Every lender or investor eventually will need his money back, and a legal document covering everything from the terms to the timing can avoid the kind of acrimony just described.

POOR CASH FLOW MANAGEMENT

Too many new business owners burn through their seed money too quickly and fail to reach cash flow-positive status in a timely manner. Some causal factors, like late product deliveries and economic downturns may be beyond one’s control, but the executive team is clearly at fault for others, such as unnecessary spending and overly optimistic expense/income forecasts. Financial sponsors don’t take kindly to that sort of mismanagement. And if they turn off the tap, all your hard work may go down the drain.

LET’S look at the most profound yet subtle strategies for wise negotiating…as practised at the top.

PICK YOUR BATTLES CAREFULLY

CEOs who sell and negotiate successfully know that sometimes even the most valiant fight may not be worth the potential loss it entails. They know it’s up to them to assign value to the campaign they decide to take on or decline — not outside forces like sales vice-presidents or prospective customers. In other words, good CEOs are more likely to ‘walk’ when they sense there will be no alternative to a bad deal. They don’t negotiate a deal just to say they’ve negotiated something.

LEAVE NO LOOSE ENDS

Once they take on a negotiating project — or any project, for that matter, — CEOs ensure everything on the ‘hot list’gets taken care of. They can’t afford to leave any loose ends at a negotiating session, and they commit to following through on all their commitments. You’ll want to do the same.

KNOW WHEN TO ASK, NOT JUST WHAT TO ASK FOR

Successful CEOs know that you can’t reap what you don’t sow. Their actions always seem to be in accordance with the ‘ebb and flow’. They get involved early in important deals, they know when to wait, and they know when to push. This trait comes in handy at negotiating sessions.

DON’T TAKE SHORTCUTS

CEOs have certain values that they just won’t compromise. That’s not to say they are stubborn, but they do know how, when and where to draw a boundary. Ill-advised departures from guiding principles can carry huge costs, the most important of which are non-monetary: lower self-worth, lower esteem, damaged reputation and damaged self-image, to name just a few.

TURN ENVY INTO ENERGY

Successful CEOs are happy with what they have and who they are. That doesn’t mean that they don’t want to grow and prosper. They just know the importance of being happy with what is taking place in here and now. That may not seem like a trait for successful negotiations, but it is. Envy saps energy and poisons relationships; admiration of another’s positive traits and accomplishments is a supreme compliment that helps you focus on what you need to improve in your life, your business, your relationships, your finances — and your negotiating posture.

AVOID OTHER PERSON’S PROBLEM(S)

This is a great (and simple) ‘negotiating tactic’ that many CEOs mention. This tactic is all about not inheriting someone’s unresolved problem as your own. If one had a dollar for every time one heard “We don’t have that amount of money in our budget,” or “We don’t have a budget,” or “Your price is too high,” or “I don’t have the authority,” or “We can’t move forward right now,” or “We need this by no later than next Monday,” one would be a millionaire. Look at all these typical responses again, and one will see that each is an attempt to put the buyer’s issues onto the seller’s list of problems.

Instead of fighting the problem, putting it off until ‘later on’ in the negotiations or throwing a new one into the mix, what would happen if one approached the problem from the standpoint of finding a solution — of acting as a consultant with the responsibility of finding an outcome that makes both sides happy?

DO CEOS SWAGGER?

To think, sell and negotiate like a CEO, you must understand that more than anyone in an organisation, the CEO has the ultimate walk-away power. The power to walk away is the most profound negotiating tactic that a CEO will use. He/she basically says “I am totally willing to pass on this opportunity.” There is a big difference in that thinking Vs “I am going to get the price as low as I can before I buy.” Walk-away power takes the opportunity past the point of no return. The winning party will convince the other party that they can and will walk away from the relationship (buy or sell). Keep in mind that the goal here is not to actually ‘walk’; the goal is to get the other party to do whatever the ‘walking’ party wants them to do.

ASK FOR THE STARS

Asking for more than is expected (moving beyond expectations) is a great trait of CEOs. You’ll be able to see this one coming if you’re a salesperson because you’re already conditioned to the “do whatever it takes to get the sale” mentality. CEOs know this, too. Therefore, be prepared, and you may even want to use this yourself when you’re on the ‘seller’s’ side of the table. By doing so, you’ll be modelling an important CEO negotiating trait.

Before you turn to the bank for a loan, think about creative ways to finance your entrepreneurial venture without raising start-up capital from external sources.

Here are 10 top tips:

Start small:

Even if you have a grand vision for your business, concentrate on generating short-term revenue to get enough cash to fund the long-term business idea.

Focus on sales:

Get on the phone and start cold calling. Go for quick wins — contracts that bring in cash and will lead to other sales. Generating cash flow is the immediate goal in order to start building your business.

Concentrate on networking:

Don’t waste money on expensive advertising which can be a hit or a miss. Concentrate on networking and building up contacts, as word of mouth is the most effective form of promotion.

Keep overheads to a minimum:

Work from home if you can and borrow or lease rather than buy expensive equipment. It’s easy to get carried away resourcing a new business, but only buy what you really need to get the job done.

Choose wisely:

Open a company bank account that offers free business banking for start-ups for at least the first 12-18 months. Internet banking makes it easier to keep a close eye on transactions.

Control debt:

Utilise a 0% credit card for essential expenditure, — but be careful to keep debt under control and either pay it off or transfer to another 0% card well before the interest rate goes up.

Invoice your clients in stages:

50% at the half-way point and 50% on completion. Make sure you have clear payment terms in the contract and on the invoice.

Retain cash in the business:

Take as little out yourself as possible. This might mean going without a holiday or you may need to start your business whilst still in part-time employment to cover your bills.

Try business bartering:

Offer your design services in exchange for goods and services you need. This saves you spending cash and can be a good way to develop relations with a new client base.

Put time into PR:

Think of an unusual hook and write a press release or article. Conduct a survey about a topical or controversial issue with your potential customers. Publish the results as a story to attract free publicity for your business.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

It was in Pune that I met Narayan Murty through my friend Prasanna who is now the Wipro chief, who was also training in Telco. Most of the books that Prasanna lent me had Murty's name on them which meant that I had a preconceived image of the man.Contrary to expectation, Murty was shy,bespectacled and an introvert. When he invited us for dinner.. I was a bit taken aback as I thought the young man was making a very fast move. I refused since I was the only girl in the group. But Murty was relentless and we all decided to meet for dinner the next day at 7.30 p.m. at Green Fields hotel on the Main Road,Pune.

The next day I went there at 7' o clock since I had togo to the tailor near the hotel. And what do I see?Mr. Murty waiting in front of the hotel and it was only seven. Till today, Murty maintains that I had mentioned (consciously!) that I would be going to the tailor at 7 so that I could meet him...And I maintain that I did not say any such thing consciously or unconsciously because I did not think of Murty as anything other than a friend at that stage. We haveagreed to disagree on this matter.

Soon, we became friends. Our conversations were filled with Murty's experiences abroad and the books that he has read. My friends insisted that Murty was trying to impress me because he was interested in me. I kept denying it till one fine day, after dinner Murty said,I want to tell you something. I knew this was it. It was coming. He said, I am 5'4" tall. I come from a lower middle class family. I can never become rich in my life and I can never give you any riches. You are beautiful, bright, and intelligent and you can get anyone you want. But will you marry me? I asked Murty to give me some time for an answer. My father didn't want me to marry a wannabe politician,(a communist at that) who didn't have a steady job and wanted to build an orphanage...

When I went to Hubli I told my parents about Murty and his proposal. My mother was positive since Murty was also from Karnataka, seemed intelligent and comes from a good family. But my father asked: What's his job,his salary, his qualifications etc? Murty was working as a research assistant and was earning less than me.He was willing to go dutch with me on our outings. My parents agreed to meet Murty in Pune on a particular day at10 a. m sharp. Murty did not turn up. How can I trust a man to take care of my daughter if he cannot keep an appointment, asked my father. At 12noon Murty turned up in a bright red shirt! He had gone on work to Bombay, was stuck in a traffic jam on the ghats, so he hired a taxi(though it was very expensive for him) to meet his would-be father-in-law.Father was unimpressed. My father asked him what he wanted to become in life. Murty said he wanted to become a politician in the communist party and wanted to open an orphanage. My father gave his verdict. NO. I don't want my daughter to marry somebody who wants to become a communist and then open an orphanage when he himself didn't have money to support his family.Ironically, today, I have opened many orphanages something, which Murty wanted to do 25 years ago. By this time I realized I had developed a liking towardsMurty which could only be termed as love. I wanted to marry Murty because he is an honest man. He proposed to me highlighting the negatives in his life. I promised my father that I will not marry Murty without his blessings though at the same time, I cannot marry anybody else. My father said he would agree if Murty promised to take up a steady job. But Murty refused saying he will not do things in life because somebody wanted him to. So, I was caught between the two most important people in my life.

The stalemate continued for three years during which our courtship took us to every restaurant and cinema hall in Pune. In those days, Murty was always broke.Moreover, he didn't earn much to manage. Ironically today, he manages Infosys Technologies Ltd., one of the world's most reputed companies. He always owed me money. We used to go for dinner and he would say, I don't have money with me, you pay my share, I will return it to you later. For three years I maintained a book on Murty's debt to me.. No, he never returned the money and I finally tore it up after my wedding. The amount was a little over Rs 4000. During this interim period Murty quit his job as research assistant and started his own software business. Now,I had to pay his salary too! Towardsthe late 70s computers were entering India in a bigway.

During the fag end of 1977 Murty decided to take up a job as General Manager at Patni Computers in Bombay.But before he joined the company he wanted to marry me since he was to go on training to the US after joining. My father gave in as he was happy Murty had a decent job, now.WE WERE MARRIED IN MURTY'S HOUSE IN BANGALORE ONFEBRUARY 10, 1978 WITH ONLY OUR TWO FAMILIES PRESENT.I GOT MY FIRST SILK SARI. THE WEDDING EXPENSES CAME TO ONLY RS 800 (US $17) WITH MURTY AND I POOLING IN RS400 EACH.I went to the US with Murty after marriage. Murty encouraged me to see America on my own because I loved travelling. I toured America for three months on backpack and had interesting experiences which will remain freshin my mind forever. Like the time when the New York police took me into custody because they thought I was an Italian trafficking drugs in Harlem.Or the time when I spent the night at the bottom of the Grand Canyon with an old couple. Murty panicked because he couldn't get a response from my hotel room even at midnight. He thought I was either killed or kidnapped.

IN 1981 MURTY WANTED TO START INFOSYS. HE HAD A VISION AND ZERO CAPITAL...initially I was very apprehensive about Murty getting into business. We did not have any business background.. Moreover we were living a comfortable life in Bombay with a regular pay check and I didn't want to rock the boat. But Murty was passionate about creating good quality software. I decided to support him.

Typical of Murty, he just had a dream and no money. So I gave him Rs 10,000 which I had saved for a rainy day, without his knowledge and told him, This is all I have. Take it. I give you three years sabbatical leave. I will take care of the financial needs of our house. You go and chase your dreams without any worry. But you have only three years!

Murty and his six colleagues started Infosys in 1981,with enormous interest and hard work. In 1982 I left Telco and moved to Pune with Murty. We bought a small house on loan which also became the Infosys office. I was a clerk-cum-cook-cum-programmer. I also took up a job as Senior Systems Analyst with Walchand group of Industries to support the house. In 1983 Infosys got their first client, MICO, in Bangalore. Murty moved to Bangalore and stayed with his mother while I went to Hubli to deliver my second child, Rohan. Ten days after my son was born, Murty left for the US on project work. I saw him only after a year, as I was unable to join Murty in the US because my son had infantile eczema, an allergy to vaccinations. So for more than a year I did not step outside our home for fear of my son contracting an infection. It was only after Rohan got all his vaccinations that I came to Bangalore where we rented a small house in Jayanagar and rented another house as Infosys headquarters. My father presented Murty a scooter to commute. I once again became a cook, programmer, clerk, secretary, office assistant et al. Nandan Nilekani (MD of Infosys) and his wife Rohini stayed with us. While Rohini babysat my son, I wrote programs for Infosys. There was no car, no phone, and just two kids and a bunch of us working hard, juggling our lives and having fun while Infosys was taking shape. It was not only me but also the wives of other partners too who gave their unstinted support. We all knew that our men were trying to build something good.

It was like a big joint family,taking care and looking out for one another. I still remember Sudha Gopalakrishna looking after my daughter Akshata with all care and love while Kumari Shibulal cooked for all of us. Murty made it very clear that it would either be me or him working at Infosys. Never the two of us together... I was involved with Infosys initially.

Nandan Nilekani suggested I should be on the Board but Murty said he did not want a husband and wife team at Infosys. I was shocked since I had the relevant experience and technical qualifications. He said, Sudha if you want to work with Infosys, I will withdraw, happily. I was pained to know that I will not be involved in the company my husband was building and that I would have to give up a job that I am qualified to do and love doing.

It took me a couple of days to grasp the reason behind Murty's request.. I realized that to make Infosys a success one had to give one's 100 percent. One had to be focussed on it alone with no other distractions. If the two of us had to give 100 percent to Infosys then what would happen to our home and our children? One of us had to take care of our home while the other took care of Infosys.

I opted to be a homemaker, after all Infosys was Murty's dream. It was a big sacrifice but it was one that had to be made. Even today, Murty says, Sudha, I stepped on your career to make mine. You are responsible for my success. I might have given up my career for my husband's sake.

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